70 BANQUET TO THE 



part of the city was then covered with water, in many- 

 places twenty feet deep. Our purpose was to secure 

 ample space for the educational institutions which the 

 committee represented, the most prominent at that 

 time being the proposed Polytechnic Institute, now 

 called the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

 Governor Banks asked us what axe we had to grind, 

 and our reply was, " The broad-axe of the State of 

 Massachusetts, your Excellency ; and we want you 

 with the Legislature to turn the grindstone." 



Our zeal was somewhat chilled, but we were not dis- 

 couraged by the Governor's somewhat adverse attitude. 

 We soon discovered that the work we had in hand 

 required a permanent organization of our volunteer 

 committee; and in our search for a leader Marshall 

 P. Wilder was pointed out to us as the man of all 

 others to swing the long-handled broad-axe of the 

 State, and direct the attention of the Legislature to 

 the justness of the cause we represented. It was 

 not difficult to persuade him to be the chairman of 

 the so-called Back Bay Reservation Committee, and 

 his quick perception of the great future of this 

 movement enabled him to broaden our plans. His 

 strong faith in the importance of the project inspired 

 us to call again to inform his Excellency of our 

 determination to persevere ; and not unlike the coon 

 which besfan to descend from the tree and surrender 

 as soon as he saw that David Crockett was pointing 



